


Documentary: Love of Space

by Nutbrain



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Bandit is around being a disaster, Bonding over documentaries, F/M, Space nerds, Two nerds being nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:29:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27692129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nutbrain/pseuds/Nutbrain
Summary: Iana is new to Rainbow and Jager is excited about anyone who will listen to him talk about his documentaries.
Relationships: Marius "Jäger" Streicher/Nienke "Iana" Meijer
Comments: 8
Kudos: 29





	Documentary: Love of Space

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bottombunk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bottombunk/gifts).



> A trade for Retrodisaster!

It had started with a documentary and a simple question.

“Did you know the void of space is -270.45 degrees Celsius?” Jäger queried, seemingly out of the blue. Iana stalled, the screw she’d been fiddling with sat, momentarily forgotten about. She looked over at him, Jager still making adjustments on his magpie. Bandit, who she originally presumed he’d been talking to, sat on the counter a little further down, slurping noodles. Broth splashed everywhere; Pulse’s lab coat would likely have to be incinerated after the German was finished with it.

“And the hottest planet, Venus, is 450 degrees Celsius.” She returned back, making idle chatter, as she returned her attention to her device. Being new, it was often difficult to find ways to engage in conversations with some of the other operators. 

The slurping stopped long enough for Bandit to groan.

“Oh? That’s quite the temperature difference. I was watching a documentary last night, _Wonders of Space_. They left out that little fact. But they did mention—“ and with that, Jäger was off, regaling Iana with a variety of space factoids that he had picked up. She nodded and hummed her way through it, smile soft as he listened to the man’s excited voice. Occasionally she would expand on a fact or add in something she had noticed during her time in space. While it was simple material compared to her research, it made the time pass much faster.

Eventually, her adjustments to the device were finished and Iana’s stomach growling angrily. Jäger hadn’t seemed to notice, hands gesturing as he expounded in tardigrades and their unique biology. Bandit, appearing again but now looking like he’d rolled in grease, decided to take mercy on her.

“Marius, isn’t it time you ate something? I’m sure your newest docu-victim wouldn’t mind eating as well.” Bandit clapped a hand across Jäger shoulder, tugging him towards the door and winking towards Iana.

“Oh yes, I have been talking quite some time. Would you like to—“

“Let her have a moment to process your info dump, eh?” Bandit cut in. Jäger wilted a bit.

“Perhaps, Marius, you might enjoy watching _Black Holes, Mysteries Abound_. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.” Iana called after him, the other man perking up instantly. He turned around to say something further but Bandit snagged him and continued to march him away. 

That went on for weeks. Every time one saw the other, they would discuss space and the facts that Jäger had collected. Iana would supplement them with her own experiences and research, leading to many thoughtful conversations. Jäger’s source materials became more in depth as Iana encouraged him to look up different topics.

“I have another documentary I found about Europa. It was quite enthralling in regards to all the ice that forms there.” Jäger said, pausing with a bite of food half way to his mouth. The cafeteria was blessedly slow today, allowing the two to have meaningful conversations.

“That does sound fascinating, Jäger. I too found an interesting documentary about the space station I was on. Would you like to watch it together sometime? I could tell you interesting things about it as we go through.” Iana paused, feeling her heart speed up slightly, though she wouldn’t admit to herself why.

“Really? I’m free tonight, if you had time. And if you wanted to watch mine, I do think that you’d find it interesting that Europa is tidally locked, so the same side always faces Jupiter.” And with that Jäger had launched into his factoids, Iana smiling gently at him, heart still thundering in her chest.

Night rolled around and Jäger arrived at Iana’s living space the exact time he had promised. He wore a matching set composed of NASA branded t-shirt and sweats, something Iana had given to him following their initial conversation.

“These are very comfortable. Bandit has already tried to steal them twice, but they’d been unrecognizable if he got his grimy hands on them.” Marius chuckled at his own joke, settling down on the worn couch of Iana’s living space. She offered him a blanket, shifting to allow him room to relax.

The documentary was intriguing. Jäger would frequently pause to allow Iana to tell him interesting facts about the people or certain spaces the camera was moving through. She pointed out viewing areas and explained what her life had been like, so far from home; how her gadget had made an enormous difference in the research done there. Jäger listened, attention fierce as he took in every word.

Eventually, the documentary came to an end, credits rolling, and Jäger was still quiet,gaze unfocused. Iana feared he hadn’t enjoyed it until he hesitantly reached out and wrapped his fingers around hers, resting them both on the blanket. He stared intensely at them.

“You look so pretty when you’re excited about something. I would like to see that more.” Jäger said, voice quiet and unsure. Only when Iana’s fingers sought a tighter grip, did his gaze flick up to meet her’s.

“But not possibly as cute as you when you’re talking.” She smiled at him, voice playful. His tense shoulders sagged in relief. “I would like to do this again sometime soon, if that’s alright?”

“I would love nothing more.” Jäger said, smile soft and warm in the flickering light of the TV.

They allowed their relationship to blossom for a few weeks more. When they were both ready, Jäger informed his squad mates that they had made it official, much to their overwhelming happiness. The GSG9 congratulated them both, though Bandit couldn’t help but lament the fact that being so nerdy had gotten Jäger a girlfriend. IQ shushed him before continuing to gush over the two.

Bandit waited another few days before taking his nephews’ copy of _Wonders of Space_ back from Jäger, confident that it had accomplished what he’d hoped for.


End file.
